Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission was created by Congress to look into the causes of the 2008 financial crisis.

The commission has authority to hold hearings, and subpoena witness testimony and documents. In the end the panel held 19 hearings and interviewed 700 witnesses. The panel is required to issue a report on its findings by Dec. 15, 2010, but delayed the final release until January 27, 2011. For a short period of time, the report can be ordered from the Commission's website http://www.fcic.gov/.

All the report testimonies, footnotes, interviews will be posted on-line including emails and other documents obtained from financial institutions as part of the investigation. A summary of conclusions and dissents can be accessed at: http://www.fcic.gov/report/conclusions.

Pecora Commission

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission is occasionally referred to as a "New Pecora Commission". The original Pecora Commission, launched in 1932, investigated the causes of the 1929 Wall Street crash. It was named after its chief counsel Ferdinand Pecora. The Pecora commission reported on the causes of the financial crisis that caused the Great Depression, and led to the passage of several banking reforms, including the Glass-Steagall Act.